I’ve heard that the Japanese military used some Beretta M38 submachineguns from Italy, but I don’t know any details. Does anyone know when and how many were imported, what branches of the military they were issued to (navy? army? etc.), and if there’s any evidence for which campaigns they saw action in? Also, were they kept in 9x19 Parabellum, or rechambered for a Japanese round to make logistics easier?
http://www.dragonsoffire.com/ARTICLE%3A … PISTOL.php
“In early August of 1943 the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal received the first and only shipment of 50 guns of the model MP 38/43 with the specified magazines and 50,000 rounds of ammunition. (omitted) Distribution of the weapons is unknown and survival of the single digit count is limited to specimens captured in the South Pacific Territories.”. Beretta Model 38 - Wikipedia.
-
---------------------------------------------- [
](https://www.quora.com/profile/Jeffrey-Dees)
·
Follow
Enthusiast of WWII history and technology2y
Yes, albeit in small numbers.
The IJA/IJN ordered small batches of Swiss licensed MP-28’s, Austrian MP-34’s and Italian MAB-38 submachine guns in the 1930’s, on the order of an estimated 6,000 MP-28’s and MP-34’s each, and then an order for 350 MAB-38’s. To my understanding the MP-28’s and MP-34’s were delivered in full by the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, while only 50 MAB-38’s (of the later Model 38/43 variation) were actually delivered in 1943.
All these requests and orders were made so they could be issued exclusively to Japanese paratroopers or Naval Special Landing Forces (ie the IJN equivalent of Marine forces).
This does not include the likely utilization of captured Mauser C96 “machine pistols” used in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War in the late 1930’s, since China (both Nationalist, Communist, and warlords alike) had an interesting adoration for the Mauser Broomhandle design to where they bought large quantities of German manufactured examples, Spanish manufactured copies, and even produced significant quantities of them in China, both in semi-automatic and fully automatic variants. ---------- Japanese Submachine Guns
Like many of the major powers at the beginning of the Second World War the Japanese had shown little interest in submachine guns. Purchasing a limited number of Bergmann MP28/IIs and MP34s for testing and limited issue during the late 1930s. Many of the photographs of Japanese soldiers and marines armed with submachine guns show them armed with Austrian MP34s (see image #1 & #3). By the beginning of the Second World War this was the Japanese military’s most commonly issued submachine gun.
MP34 (source). ------------------------https://www.lonesentry.com/blog/mp34-submachine-gun-steyr-solothurn.html
. WWII — Japanese soldiers with captured Russian equipment at the Battle of Khalkhyn Gol (Mongolia - c. May-Sep 1939) [1100x850]
ZH-29 semi-automatic rifles were designed by Vaclav Holek in the early 1920s. Significant quantities were exported to China, others were captured after the German annexation of Czechoslovakia. But, can you tell me why it is called ZH-29 and in what film or video game you have seen the ZH-29? 
. 40 dutch madsen 
ij
Japanese Army Officers Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless Pistol Japanese Army Officers Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless Pistol with a very rare Japanese Army holster and spare mag. This was a vet brought back pistol that was manufactured by Colt in 1919. While some of these pistols were directly purchased by Japanese companies, many more were obtained as a result of their take over of most of the Western Pacific rim. You can imagine how many must have been confiscated in the Philippines for instance. Many folks are not aware that most Japanese Officers carried pocket pistols, most commonly Fn 1910 pistols and 1903 Colts. Finding one still fully rigged out like this is a significant find. The holster is in exceptionally nice condition and the interior of the mag pouch is stamped that this is for a Colt in an Asian style of English. This is a must have for the serious Japanese martial pistol collector and a prime example of an Army Officers side arm. .jpg)
. 
. Type 92 
MK1. 
. MK1S. 
! kokoda 1
. 
.jpg&ehk=blqAsEYxMi5iHOrsMwBG0Af7%2bmZvgfo6%2bOaou8At86s%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0)
